


Grandpa's Kisses

by supremegreendragon



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Alcohol, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Communication Failure, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Mild Language, Morty secretly likes the kisses, OOC, Rick being unusually soft, Rick tricking Morty into drinking a sleeping pill, Savior Rick, lots of platonic kissing, poor Morty, trickery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supremegreendragon/pseuds/supremegreendragon
Summary: When Rick suddenly decides to kiss his grandchildren goodnight, Morty does everything in his power to escape itNo pairings this time
Relationships: Rick Sanchez & Morty Smith
Comments: 14
Kudos: 71





	Grandpa's Kisses

Morty fiddled with the dial while Rick drove them across the fabrics of space. He could tell Rick was getting annoyed with how he constantly switched from one channel to the next. Ignoring his grandfather’s steely gaze, Morty twisted the knob in hopes of finding some pleasing music.

Rick grumbled, “God, Morty. Just tell me what you want to hear and I’ll--- **(burp)** I’ll find it for you. You’re being an annoying little fucktard right now. W-what the hell are you looking for?”

“Eh….I’m not looking for anything in particular…”

“Then hands off! I’m five seconds away from pushing the ejection button underneath your seat.”

Morty ignored him, “—I just wanted to see how many channels you had.”

“Morty….it’s intergalactic. Meaning all the….all the worlds and all their realities. T-there’s literally not enough time in your remaining lifespan to go through them all,” he took a swig from his flask and burped again, “I-it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re back home.”

The garage door opened upon their arrival, allowing Rick to gently descend on the cement floor. Once parked, Morty unbuckled his seatbelt, happy to be home at last. The adventure hadn’t been nearly as dangerous as usual, so it felt more like a chore than an ‘adventure.’ Rick wanted to collect some sort of crystalized honey from a weird bee. They went to a planet whose name Morty struggled to remember. What Rick was going to do with the crystals was anyone’s guess. Morty tried asking him, but it turned out to be one of Rick’s many secrets. Instead of giving him a direct answer, Rick had changed the topic.

Rick beamed at the boy sitting next to him, “Y-you…you did good, Morty. Wanna go play Minecraft?”

“Gee, Rick. It’s pretty late. And I have school tomorrow,” Morty ignored the way Rick scoffed at that. He wasn’t in the mood to hear his grandfather’s rants on the public-school system, “I’m just going to head to bed.”

“Your loss. See you in the morning, I guess.”

“Sure, R—” but Morty was cut off when Rick suddenly threw his lips on top of his forehead. He froze in his seat, eyes wide, his mind not processing what had happened until several seconds afterwards.

Rick….had kissed him on the forehead.

And now the man was getting out of the spaceship like it was nothing. Rick paused when he noticed that Morty was still glued to his seat. Confused, Rick opened the door on Morty’s side.

“What, did you die in there? Get out of my ship and get to bed.”

Morty got out of the vehicle and stared at Rick, silently urging for an explanation. Rick, however, just walked away with his flask between his lips. He left Morty dumbfounded, as if he didn’t notice how much his actions had stunned his grandson. He probably scarred him for life.

* * *

The next day, Morty had decided to forget about the kiss. Rick did a ton of strange stuff all the time. They were usually one-off occurrences, probably to throw people for a loop. Rick seemed to somewhat enjoy messing with people like that.

Morty spent the first half hour in school. Then Rick showed up, mumbling something about a king with “a shit ton of naturally concentrated plutonium” and dragged him through a portal. There, Morty had to serve as a distraction while Rick grabbed what he could. They lied to the king and said they would help defeat the starving revolutionists that were attempting to overthrow his terrifying reign. In the end, the king fell into a pit of acid and the head of the revolution won.

Morty was proud of himself for freeing those people…..until he heard Rick mutter, “Yeah….give it a few weeks. Bet you that guy will be just as bad as the king.”

“Why do you got to be so pessimistic all the time, Rick?” Morty said as soon as they returned home. It was now ten o clock at night.

“Just watching out for all the signs, Morty. Did you notice how he didn’t say anything about relinquishing control to the masses? He basically said ‘Trust me with all the power, I got this.’ Not that….that I’m a communist or anything – and people are stupid anyway. But it never goes well when (burps) when one person can do whatever he wants. Take my…take my word on _that_. I’m calling it n-now, Morty. His reign will last a few generations, there will be another revolution and then a new ruthless dictator will promise to be their hero. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.”

Morty opened his mouth to respond, but a yawn escaped his lips. When did he get so tired?

He gave up all thought of debating with Rick. It wouldn’t get him anywhere anyway.

“Look….I’m beat,” somewhere in the back of his mind, Morty had the urge to put some distance between him and Rick. Perhaps he was wary of a repeat of last night’s strange occurrence. He was now well across the room, while Rick had seated himself in his work chair. It made Morty relax, “I’m heading to bed.”

“Wait, Morty. While you’re over there, can you grab my screwdriver?”

Morty did as he was told. He brought it over to Rick as he had done countless of times before.

  
Rick burped without excusing himself, “Thanks. Now get your fragile little ass to bed, you pussy.”

Morty was about to tell him off, when suddenly Rick swooped down and landed his lips on top of Morty’s head. Morty couldn’t breathe, his eyes went wide. This time he managed to recover his wits.

“Rick….why do you do that?”

Rick wasn’t looking at him. He had on his goggles and was screwing inside a metal box. Whatever he was doing was taking most of his attention.

“Do what?”

“You know what! Why are you?…..I thought it was just a onetime thing.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific, Morty. I’m a scientist, not a mind reader.”

“You….this is the second time you…you….you…”

“Me me me,” Rick playfully mocked, “They’re called words, Morty. Use them.”

“Why do you kiss me?” there. The question was out. Morty braced himself for the answer. He was tensed now that he had said the words out loud.

To Morty’s shock, Rick barely reacted, “Because you’re heading to bed, Einstein. When else do you expect to get a goodnight kiss?”

“Goodnight kiss?!” Morty exclaimed. Something was seriously wrong with Rick. Maybe the real Rick had been captured and this was an evil clone? Or Rick had been brainwashed? Or----

Rick interrupted his erratic thoughts, “Geez, Morty. Y-you’re going to destroy your annoyingly pubescent voice if you get any if you get any louder. Yes, I said goodnight kiss. You know, the….the thing grandparents do w-when their bitchass grandchildren go to bed **(burps).** “

Thinking this might be a joke, Morty waited for the punchline. Any moment Rick would laugh and shout “sike” and then everything would go back to normal.

But nothing of the sort happened. Rick had seemingly forgotten Morty was even standing there, too engrossed in what he was doing.

“It’s not….what you do,” Morty rationalized.

“Oh yeah?” Rick’s tone had an edge to it. He didn’t like being told what he could or couldn’t do, “Maybe I decided I’m going to kiss you goodnight every day, Morty. You ever think about that?”

Morty scowled, “You’re not because that’s not something Rick Sanchez does.”

“Why does it even bother you?”

“I’m a creature of habit, Rick!” Morty screamed, hating how little control he had over this situation, “Our adventures can be as wacky and unpredictable as ever. But I draw the line in the status-quo of our characters. You are like Sherlock Holmes and I’m Watson. Sherlock Holmes only kisses Watson on the head in fanfiction, so it’s not canon, Rick. IT’S NOT CANON! So….stop kissing me on the forehead.”

“You know what I say to that?” and then Rick belched louder than he had all week. And that was the end of the discussion.

* * *

When Rick wanted to do something, there wasn’t much that could stop him. So, when it became clear that he wanted keep kissing his grandchildren goodnight, Morty’s heart sank. Rick had started hugging and kissing Summer goodnight too. But unlike Morty, Summer enjoyed the fact that Rick did one thing a normal grandpa did. So Morty knew she wouldn’t be on his side on this.

Morty alone would have to avoid Rick’s kisses.

Fortunately, today’s adventure ended early, so Morty had a chance to excuse himself after dinner. His plan was simple – he would hide in his room until bedtime, then promptly go to sleep. Rick can’t kiss him if Morty avoided the man altogether, right?

It was approaching midnight. Morty was getting ready to get his pj’s on and hit the hay when his phone pinged. It was a text from Rick.

_Need you for something real quick. Get to the basement ASAP_

Morty just rolled his eyes. Did Rick think he was that stupid? Ignoring his phone, Morty went over to the drawer. Just as he was about to pull his shirt off, Rick came barging through the door. Morty’s alarm bells went skyrocketing.

“Wha…what the hell? Rick, get out of my room. I could’ve been jacking off in here.”

“Oh shut you’re lying mouth, you little terd. I know you saw my text,” Rick pointed to his hair, that Morty only now noticed was on fire, “What p-part of ASAP didn’t you get? It was an emergency, Morty. And you let me…an old man…try to deal with it myself? Now I g-gotta put out flames in the whole garage.”

Morty’s heart fell. Had it not been a trick after all? Did some alien attack Rick or something? Rick pulled out a weird gun and shot it at the flame on his hair, effectively extinguishing it. Morty slowly approached, fearful that his grandpa may actually be hurt somewhere.

“Gee. I’m sorry, Rick. What the hell even happened anyway?”

“It was nuts,” Rick was barely standing. He went over sit down on the edge of Morty’s bed, as if the weight of it all had just gotten to him, “A bunch of rogue Smarkians just came and demanded all my secrets, Morty. Told me they’d blow up the earth if I didn’t do what they wanted.”

“But couldn’t you outsmart them?”

“Fucking duh. That’s what I did. But one of the rogues was a real loose cannon. Trigger happy as fuck. His leader couldn’t control him. He was blasting flames everywhere and shit. Debris was flying everywhere. I think I got something in my eye. Can you check?”

Confused, Morty approached to get a closer look, his guard down after the weird story. That was the moment Rick struck. Morty felt the lips on his head before he had time to react.

“Rick! Dammit, stop doing that. It’s weird.”

“Pfft!” Rick rolled his eyes. Now that his goal was achieved, he stood up and dusted himself off, “Wow, Morty….I’m ‘weird.’ That’s…erm…that’s one hell of an insult there. I don’t think I can top it.”

Morty let out a frustrated yell, “I’m done. Ok? No more kissing me goodnight.”

“M-morty. I’m your grandpa. It’s what we do.”

“Why do you want to act like a grandpa now?”

“Just feel like it Morty. That’s the reason I do anything, really. Why are you busting my balls here?”

“Because IT’S WEIRD!”

Rick paused for a moment, as if really considering his words. Then he said, “We do weird stuff all the time.”

“Look, are you going to stop kissing me goodnight or not?”

“Or not.”

Morty froze, “What?”

“You heard me. I-I’ve listened to your bitching, but guess what? I don’t care. And if you keep busting my balls here, I’m gonna **(burp)** I’m gonna turn you into a pickle.”

“Fuck you! This isn’t over,” Morty screamed. His grandpa had started a war and now Morty was determined to achieved victory. He would stop this habit altogether.

* * *

The best thing about school was that it gave Morty a chance to sleep. After pulling all-nighters with Rick in the past, Morty had grown accustomed to using his desk as a pillow.

So if he did all his sleeping in school…..he wouldn’t have to sleep at home….where Rick could kiss him. Rick might be crazy, but there was a method to his madness. He was a creature of habit, just like Morty was. It was clear that he had a system in place – the day nears its end, Morty gets ready for bed, and then Rick kisses him.

That was why this plan would work. It _had_ to work.

The teacher’s dull voice lulled him into a relaxed state. Morty’s desk was in the very back, so it would be hard for her to see him take a snooze. And even if she did, she might not do anything. A lot of the teachers in this school didn’t care enough to enforce rules.

Morty rested his head on the desk, using his backpack as a pillow. The teacher’s lecture on the American revolution was making the perfect lullaby. He was just about to let sleep take him, when a loud bang startled him alert.

Rick ignored the teacher’s glare and sprinted towards Morty’s desk, his portal gun already in hand.

“Morty, I need you—”

“—Rick, you said I could go to school today—”

“—Don’t interrupt me, you little turd. I need you…” Rick continued on, spouting some scientific nonsense that Morty’s tired mind didn’t even bother to interpret. Morty knew where this was going anyway.

He waited until his grandfather was finished, “No.”

Rick furrowed his brows, “What?”

“No, Rick. I’m not going on an adventure with you today. Let’s do it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow will be too late for this,” Rick scowled. He was pouting like a toddler not getting his way. He crossed his arms. Morty defiantly crossed his arms back at him, locking glares with his grandfather. The rest of the class waited with bated breath for something to happen.

A yawn escaped Morty’s mouth before he could catch it. Humor flashed through Rick’s eyes.

“Well, I guess you’re not going to be much use anyway. You look ready to pass out.”

Morty smiled in relief. It looked like he had actually won this round.

His feelings of victory were short-lived, as Rick placed a hand on his desk and leaned in close. Morty’s alarm bells went ballistic. This couldn’t be happening! Rick wasn’t seriously about to kiss him in front of everybody, was he?

Morty bolted out of his seat.

“On second thought, I guess I’ll go with you.”

“You sure, buddy? You’re not….planning on going to sleep?” Rick snickered. Morty wanted to hit him.

“Let’s just get out of here already,” he pulled at the lapels of Rick’s coat, urging him to leave so he doesn’t change his mind and kiss him anyway. Rick allowed him to lead the way, a smirk on his face. It always pleased him to see Morty eager to go on his adventures, no matter what the reason was.

* * *

During the day, it was like nothing had changed between them. Rick and Morty still spoke openly to each other, still felt comfortable around each other, and still hung out together as friends. If it wasn’t for Rick’s sudden desire to plant his lips on Morty’s temple every night, everything would be normal.

They were both currently sprawled on the living room couch, watching intergalactic commercials. Morty occasionally turned to ask Rick a question about products like _Borgi soap_ and _Killranna’s donuts._

After a while, Rick looked at his phone, then arched an eyebrow at his grandson.

“You know….you’re no—not usually up this late, bruh. When do you plan on---on going to bed?”

Morty did his best to remain cool. He shrugged his shoulders, faking disinterest, “Actually, Rick. I think I’ll stay up tonight.”

Rick stared at him, “The whole night?”

“Yep.”

Rick chuckled under his breath, “Sure, little buddy. Knock yourself out,” he paused for a moment, “But are ya sure you can do it? You’re (burp) you’re looking pretty tired there.”

It was the truth. Exhaustion seeped all the way into Morty’s bones, a result of a long day without the relief of a nap at school. Morty was fading fast and Rick knew it. The old man was grinning in wait.

Morty was determined to knock him down a peg. He wouldn’t fall asleep like some toddler, especially in front of his grandpa. Morty stood up and stretched, then waited several seconds. He just awkwardly stood there, causing Rick pause.

“Are you just going to stand and watch tv?”

“I don’t feel like sitting down right now,” because at least this way, Morty could stay awake.

“Mo-eurgh-ty, buddy. If you wanna stay up so bad lemme help. Be right back.”

Before Morty could react, Rick had gotten up and walked into the kitchen. Morty couldn’t see what he was doing, but he heard the coffee maker turn on, causing Morty to scowl. When Rick came in with a coffee cup, Morty continued to glare.

Rick offered the cup. Morty took it but he didn’t take a sip. He wasn’t that stupid.

“Oh, come on! You think your own grandpa would drug you?”

“You turned me molecule size and injected me into a homeless man. You have no morals.”

Rick shrugged his shoulders, “Whatever. Drink it or don’t. It won’t chafe my ass either way,” he sat back down and took a shot of his whiskey.

The coffee smelled strongly of the caffeine that Morty desperately needed. Knowing Rick, he probably drugged the entire pot in a way that would make it impossible to get out with simple cleaning. At least….that was Morty’s guess.

It was a safe guess. And Morty would not be fooled.

He walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. His eyes landed on his special brand of soda that Beth bought solely for Morty. He remembered hearing that soda had some caffeine, so it would have to do. Morty grabbed a can and popped it open with a satisfying hiss.

He came back into the room while sipping at his drink. Rick waved at him to come over with a smile on his face.

“Look, Morty. This dumbass is trying to sell timeshares on Gallidond. No one goes to that hellhole willingly.”

Morty sat down. The soda wasn’t working at all. If anything, it felt like Morty’s eyes were heavier…..his thoughts were getting mushy….

…what was wrong with him?

“By the way, Morty. You’re….you’re aware I can inject eeerp! Inject a sleeping aid into un-open cans, right?”

Morty’s eyes went wide, or at least they would have _if they weren’t so heavy!_ Morty was fading fast and it was too late to stop train of sleep from coming. Morty’s head fell onto Rick’s side. Rick took the opportunity to kiss his forehead, right before Morty blacked out completely.

* * *

Ignoring Rick failed. Sleeping in school failed. And even just trying to stay awake and delay the inevitable failed.

Failed failed FAILED.

Morty groaned in defeat. He was close to ripping his hair out as he tried to take calming breaths. Why did Rick always have to win? What could Morty do to avoid those kisses?

It looked like there was only one choice left. If running from Rick wouldn’t work, then Morty would have to stick around and fight. The thought of having a battle of kisses filled Morty with excitement, although he was too proud to admit that to himself.

Rick was currently in some other dimension because it had a bar selling alien alcohol for half off. That would keep him busy for the next hour or so. Morty went into Rick’s garage, grabbing all the tools he would need. He spotted the Freeze Ray instantly and took it – not to use on his grandpa, but to make sure Rick wouldn’t use it on him. He wouldn’t put it past Rick to turn him into an ice cube and kiss him while he was immobile.

Morty also took the Meeseek’s Box thing, a laser gun and his favorite combat suit. Morty decked himself out in its gloriously futuristic fabric. He felt much better protected, as Rick would have to remove his helmet in order to kiss him now. Once he finished dressing, Morty pressed the Meeseek’s Box.

The Meeseeks appeared with a huge grin, “I’m Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!”

“When Rick comes home, keep him distracted as long as possible,” Morty ordered.

“Caaaaan dooo!” sang the Meeseeks. It stationed itself near the door, where Rick would most likely arrive from. Satisfied, Morty took the Freeze Ray and ran upstairs to his room. He locked the door, then placed a chair in its way. Then he began making a fort out of the furniture. It took a while, but once it was finished, Morty was able to duck under the crevice like he was ducking for cover.

He got himself comfortable….

…an hour passed. It was about Morty’s usual bedtime. But nothing happened.

…another hour. Rick sure was late.

…an hour more. Morty wasn’t even close to being tired.

….another. Morty was starting to worry. He sent his grandpa a text, asking where he was. Surely the Meeseeks couldn’t be that good, right?

….Morty got out of his hiding spot. Something wasn’t right. Rick had suddenly vanished on him. He walked of the door and stepped into the garage. There he saw Rick sleeping soundly at his desk. Mr. Meeseeks smiled at him.

“Hiya, pal. I’m not your Meeseeks. I’m Rick’s. Your Meeseeks disappeared already,” it was whispering so that Rick wouldn’t wake up.

Morty looked between Rick and the blue entity, frowning in confusion.

“I’m glad you’re here. It’s been hours and I don’t like existing for that long,” Meeseeks said, “My orders were to give you a message, but only when you came through the door by yourself. Rick says that he’ll stop kissing you, since you’re going all gun-ho about it.”

“Really?” Morty prepared himself for an attack. Maybe Rick would throw himself on him and plant a kiss. Meeseeks nodded and then disappeared. Rick continued to snore where he sat.

Morty waited for a long time……but Rick continued snoring….

* * *

So…. he won without even winning. Morty felt horrible, like he was about to have a great adventure, but instead was given a boring math quiz. It was the feeling of disappointment. Rick said nothing of the matter after that. He continued giving Beth and Summer a hug and kiss goodnight. It made Morty feel worse.

But there was no way Morty could say anything now. Yes, he was jealous. But he didn’t know why. He _wanted_ Rick to stop….didn’t he?

Or maybe Morty just wanted to play a game all along?

“Hey, Morty. Wazza matter?” Rick stammered. He was a little more inebriated than usual.

“Oh. Nothing.”

“W-why are y-you acting like a wet blanket? Y-you’re frustrating m-m-me.”

“I’m not acting like anything. I just don’t have anything to say,” Morty crossed his arms defensively.

“Whatever,” Rick burped.

He was going to leave the conversation at that. Morty wanted to say something about the kisses. He opened his mouth as if to speak. But right before he could get a word out, Rick had left the room.

* * *

Morty was all alone in bed now. Just like he wanted. Yep, this was totally what he wanted.

The worst part about this pain was that this was one hundred percent self-inflicted. Morty knew he could go back to Rick anytime and ask for the goodnight kiss. The only thing stopping him was the thought of how much Rick would surely ridicule him. He could just hear all the jabs.

_“What? I thought you were too cool for a kiss from your grandpa? Now you’re on your knees begging me for one? Damn, Morty. You must be menstruating because you can’t decide what you want, can you?”_

The thought actually produced a smile on Morty’s face, albeit a bitter one. It sounded just like Rick and somehow that almost comforted him.

It still didn’t hurt any less. The imaginary Rick inside Morty’s head was right. Morty truly could not decide what he wanted.

Shit, was that a tear that fell on his pillow? Fuck, he was such a pussy. Morty closed his eyes, trying to stop feeling sorry for himself long enough to fall asleep.

He heard the door open, but now that he was crying, Morty didn’t dare look. He knew it was Rick – he heard him mumbling something under his breath in a half drunken stupor. Morty pretended to be asleep, hoping against all odds it would fool the genius scientist.

His mattress sank as Rick sat down beside him. Morty felt his grandpa’s hands brushing a few strands of hair.

Was he….going to kiss him? No, Morty had a bad feeling this was just an awful gag on Rick’s part. He would probably get Morty’s hopes up and then burp in his face…

“M-Morty…I know you’re not asl—asle—we gotta talk, Morty. Stop pretending.”

His words. They sounded so serious and almost sad. They had an effect on Morty that made him obey without question. He looked up at Rick pitifully. The tears were falling, so Morty was quick with the excuses.

“Oh, Rick…..I was….I….I was crying because I confessed to Jessica today and she rejected me…”

“Is that right?” Rick chuckled, “Strange because you didn’t go to school today. I made sure of that.”

Morty cursed himself for overlooking that detail.

“Uh….um…uh....I had a dream that the whole family was dead and I woke up crying….” Morty offered.

“If you’re going to change your s-story, at least…make it a li-little less obvious,” Rick sighed, “Try again.”

“I saw a movie about a kicked puppy?”

Suddenly, Rick looked very annoyed with his grandson. Rolling his eyes in aggravation, Rick dove his head down and planted a big kiss on Morty’s forehead. Morty was too stunned to move a muscle.

Rick pulled away, “There. Now…stop with the pity party you’ve been doing….I don’t like you this sad for this long…..”

Morty couldn’t find his voice, so instead of responding, he just stared unblinkingly. At least the tears had dried up. He was too grateful to be embarrassed, happy that Rick had – for once – responded to his emotional needs without provocation.

“Listen, Morty. I’m gonna---I’m gonna be honest with y-you.. I was…trying to get you to tell me you wanted me to do it….you never did.”

It was the last thing that Morty expected to hear from his grandpa. The tears were already beginning to dry, as if the kiss had some sort of magical gift of healing a broken heart.

….Morty better not voice this thought. Rick might be giving goodnight kisses, but he probably didn’t want to get too sappy.

“Oh…” Morty sighed happily. He instinctively moved closer to Rick. The scientist didn’t seem to mind his grandson being in such close proximity. If anything, he seemed to welcome it.

“C-can’t have you being sad for this long…you were being…you were being ridiculous, Morty.”

“I know,” Morty conceded, “I…I didn’t think you were _expecting_ me to come to you.”

“Thought I’d tease you?”

Morty nodded, causing Rick to shake his head chuckling.

Rick added, “Yeah…I would’ve definitely teased ya. Hell, I’m still going to tease you. Morty the drama queen over here, having a pity party because he can’t get a kiss goodnight.”

Morty chuckled with him. He was in such a good mood now that everything was out in the open, “Hey, fuck you,” he laughed.

Rick caught onto the humor in his voice and smiled. He stood up.

“Listen, Morty…..I didn’t want to…I didn’t want to be too forceful…just _a little forceful_. I wasn’t going to chase you and hold you down and slobber all over you….unless you wanted that.”

“I wanted a battle,” Morty decided he was going to be honest, “I guess I was having fun.”

“Shit….and I went ahead and ruined it,” Rick sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, looking at a loss for words.

But Morty smiled at him, “No, you didn’t. You’re smart but you’re not a mind-reader. I told you to stop and you did….eventually…..”

They stared at each other in silence. Rick seemed nervous about something, which was evident from how he pulled out his flask and took a sip.

“L-listen, Morty. Just…just tell me if you want me to keep….you know? I promise I won’t ridicule ya. We never have to talk about it at all. Just…just let me know for sure what you want.”

This was the moment of truth. To both their surprise, it only took Morty a second to come up with a decision.

“I want to kiss you goodnight. As long as you want to.”

“Putting the pressure on your poor old grandpa, huh?” Rick chuckled. Something told Morty that he was going to be kissing him goodnight for a long while.

“I do have a question though,” Morty stated, “You never used to do this. What changed? I’m not interrogating you. I just really want to know.”

Rick paused, before he hesitantly answered, “Guess I always wanted to do it….Just thought I wasn’t a deserving enough grandpa…..”

Morty motioned for Rick to come closer as if he was going to tell him a secret. Confused, Rick leaned his face in. Once he was close enough, Morty planted a kiss on Rick’s forehead.

**Author's Note:**

> Eh. The tone shifted quite a bit at the end there. But I've been working on this for weeks, so I really wanted to share anyway.


End file.
